The English electronics manufacturer ATC has been in business for 50 years and has long been a household name in the music industry when it comes to professional speakers. Freedom from distortion and high performance are key characteristics. Now, the requirements for studios are not necessarily the same as the listening habits in the hi-fi sector, which is why ATC has corresponding speaker lines in its range. At this point, we would like to introduce the compact SCM20PSL from the “HiFi line”, which is part of the manufacturer’s “Classic” series.
The tonal balance in music playback is very easy to determine for yourself, because as soon as the first sounds are heard, we automatically focus our ears on what is happening. Almost instantly, we get that “That’s it!”-feeling – or not. As we know, every loudspeaker is highly dependent on the room acoustics, which must therefore be taken into account. With the not too voluminous ATC SCM20PSL, it is therefore clear at first glance that it will be most effective in a room size of up to 20 square meters. Of course, the final positioning will always depend on the layout of the room. During the review, I sat in the classic (monitoring) triangle with a distance of around two meters – I call this “intimate listening” – in my listening room.
The choice of amplifier naturally also has a significant influence on the reproduction of the respective speaker system. Due to the rather low efficiency of 85 decibels of the test candidate, the use of powerful semiconductor designs is recommended, with the manufacturer’s recommendation being 75 to 300 watts. Fittingly, an integrated amplifier was my guest during the review period, which, with its 75 hybrid watts, got on well with the ATC. In the case of the British small monitors, power is not really the decisive factor, control is much more important. Well, and this is precisely where conventional tube designs are often out of the running. The manufacturer is aware of this and offers appropriate amplifier types.
Before we come to the playback quality of the test subject, let’s take a quick look at the technical specs: The low-mid driver of the eight-ohm speaker has a diameter of 150 millimeters, while the silk dome tweeter has a diameter of 25 millimeters. Both drivers are developed and manufactured in-house. Hot tip: There is a very successful presentation of the ATC manufactory (on the sales product page) on the Internet – it’s really worth a watch! The extremely high level of vertical integration is clearly demonstrated here – even the voice coils for the chassis are produced in-house. However, I have to pour a little water into the wine of praise: I’m not convinced by the bi-wiring connections used. Unfortunately, they are positioned so close together that it is not possible to connect the more voluminous cable lugs that are commonly used today. This leaves only (bi-wiring) cables with bananas/spades (4 mm) as suitable connections. And the cable bridges supplied – well, there’s still a lot of sound potential left on the table. But enough of the niggles – thanks to a high-quality bi-wiring speaker cable, I didn’t have to worry about the bridges. The frequency response is specified as 80 hertz to 20 kilohertz, and the maximum sound pressure level is a solid 108 decibels.
When it comes to my music picks, I always like to start with Pink Floyd. This has often shown very quickly whether a speaker really has high sonic potential when fed with “heavy” music. What’s more, I’ve been listening to the band for decades (so musically I’ve grown up with them, so to speak) and therefore have a good ear for them. To warm up, I treat myself to the vinyl version of the album Pulse – it contains everything that made the band famous. The “small” ATC SCM20PSL is immediately fresh and free and blows off steam naturally. Of course, this monitor can’t get into the deepest bass cellar (let’s keep in mind: 150 mm bass chassis), but what it delivers and how it does it is flawless. The bandoneon sounds free and open with the Sexteto Mayor.
This is immediately followed by a listening session with the Buena Vista Social Club – it’s really fun, especially in this “near-field” listening situation. I can attest to the tuning of the drivers as being very successful. Classical? Of course: a church organ – for example in the Allegro moderato of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata BWV 1031, transcribed for oboe and organ – is presented with a richness that makes you sit up and take notice. The ATC loudspeaker is particularly brilliant with instruments that are especially difficult to reproduce, such as the organ or those with wooden resonance bodies. Here it really pulls out all the stops. The live recording of “Fly Like An Eagle” made by the Steve Miller Band in 1976 is the next track in the digital feeder. A sometimes jazzy, sometimes funky Hammond organ, always massively underpinned by an almost brutally beaten drum kit that remains as dry as dust, allows the extended, sometimes razor-sharp guitar solos, alternating with the reverberant vocals, to fly apart musically at first, only to later rejoin the rhythm of the band. The audience goes with the flow.
In 1989, the band Kansas played a live version of “Carry On Wayward Son” in Philadelphia, which was already very popular at the time. Powerfully direct and mixed with hard syncopated beats from the drums, this musical event is reproduced very faithfully. A rich bass drum, a finely audible hissing of the cymbals – “A great performance!” goes through my head. Change of style to Port Neuf by Rabih Abou-Khalil. The music immerses me in a strange world of sound. I can hear the melodies and tones building up from the depths of the action in front of me. An incredibly cleanly bowed cello – I am really impressed by the clarity. It is precisely the quiet tones that are presented in an extremely realistic way. As with Robin Holcomb’s “When I Stop Crying” – piano and voice as the main protagonists in a duet; floating very lightly, discreetly supported by guitar sounds, while the percussion garnishes the vocals. Let’s come to the conclusion: The ATC SCM20PSL passive standmount loudspeaker is a lovingly manufactured product that is not only impeccably crafted, but can also reproduce music flawlessly. Its successful tonal balance is the most striking characteristic in the sum of its features.
Accompanying Equipment
CD player: C.E. C CD-5 with Horwege modification | Turntable: Transrotor Dark Star Reference with Konstant Reference M1 power supply | Tonearm: Transrotor TR 9S | Cartridges: Audio-Technica VM760SLC, Phasemation PP-200 | Phono preamplifier: Phasemation EA-220 with T-320 transformer | Tube integrated amplifier: Thivan Labs 572/811 Anniversary | Speakers: Klipsch Heresy III with balanced crossovers from Elixir-Loudspeakers, Thivan Labs Eros 9 Ultra
Loudspeaker ATC SCM20PSL
Concept: passive 2-way compact loudspeaker | Configuration: 150 mm ATC woofer, 25 mm ATC tweeter (dual suspension, “S-Spec”) | Connections: Bi-wiring terminals for banana and spade lugs | Frequency response (±2 dB): 80 Hz to 20 kHz | Maximum sound pressure: 108 dB | Crossover frequency: 2.5 kHz | Efficiency: 85 dB | Recommended amplifier power: 75 to 300 W | Finishes: Standard veneers black ash, oak, cherry and walnut; black or white satin lacquer or black or white piano lacquer; premium veneers rosewood, pippy oak, burr popular, burr magnolia; sealing of all veneers with high-gloss lacquer possible (at extra charge) | Dimensions (W/H/D): 24/44/33 cm | Weight: 18 kg | Warranty period: 6 years | Price per pair: around € 5580
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